Beloved 'Zippy,' a life sized elf, returned to Deerfield

DEERFIELD — Monday wasn't what you'd consider a beach day, but that didn't stop Zippy, a life-sized elf, from setting up his lawn chair to catch some sun outside of Veasey Park.

Then, he disappeared.

Officials have been scrambling to find him over the last couple of days.

"We have contacted the North Pole, and we believe they are sending us some help to locate Zippy, stay tuned!," Deerfield Rescue wrote on its Facebook Page earlier in the week.

The hard work paid off, and he turned up Wednesday morning.

"He's just wet," said rescue squad Capt. Cindy McHugh.

Zippy was found in front of a house near the Raymond town line, across town from where he disappeared, McHugh said.

"The news coverage probably made someone feel bad and they brought him back," she said.

McHugh said she assumed the elf's disappearance was a prank, and she expected Zippy to show up at someone's house in town, perhaps a selectman's.

Zippy, a holiday fixture in the community, first showed up three years ago.

Rescue squad workers move him about town, asking residents to share pictures of his whereabouts on Facebook.

"We move him every night," McHugh said.

Who might have taken the elf is still a mystery, and might just remain that way.

McHugh said the goal was always to get Zippy back in one piece, she said.

"The kids really missed him," McHugh said.

The loss of Zippy sparked an outpouring from across the country.

"Great news!!," wrote Facebook user Gwen Bennett on the post after Zippy's return was announced. "Hugs from Texas!!"

Local children sent video messages to the Facebook page, calling for the bandit or bandits to return their missing friend.

"Each and every day, I try to look for him in my mom's car," one kid said in his video, pleading for "the Grinch" to return Zippy. "Me and my brother always look out the window. I would look out one side and he would look out the other."

National news outlets, including the New York Times, picked up the story.

McHugh said the rescue squad is grateful for the support it received during the search and that Zippy should be at the town's elementary school so students can see him when they get out for the day.